Hierarchical product structures consisting of various product constituents such as assembly components are typically used to model the product content in product life cycle management (PLM) products. These product structures can be revised as the product design matures and changes over the life cycle of the product and can be configured for various product configurations. Each of these product structures captures a particular aspect of the product and is commonly referred to as a product structure.
A product is often represented using more than one product structure in cases where multiple representations are desirable. For example, electro-mechanical products are modeled using multiple product structures, e.g., using functional models, logical models and one or more physical models. Similarly, when a product design involves systems engineering methodology, a separate product structure is created to manage each aspect of system design such as requirements, functional behavior and physical model. Other models may be created to model various aspects of the product, such as electrical models, connectivity models, etc. When a product is modeled using multiple product structures as outlined above, one of the challenges is to correctly model and track changes to these components and the impact of those changes across the various structures.
What is needed is a method of modeling relationships between the elements of the multiple product structures such that the traceability between the elements can be determined for various product configurations and revisions.